Эрин Хантер - A Forest Divided

Leaves rustled as Milkweed and the kits squeezed together and Leaf slid inside.

Thunder glanced at Lightning Tail.

Lightning Tail shrugged. “I think he feels guilty for saying she couldn’t hunt. She brought back as much prey as he did today.” He flicked his tail toward the prey pile. “You must be hungry. Have something to eat.”

“I ate at Tall Shadow’s camp,” Thunder told him.

The bracken rustled beyond the prey pile. Owl Eyes nosed his way through, shaking snow from his muzzle. “Thunder! You’re back!” He hurried across the camp.

“But I have to leave again,” Thunder explained. “I have to get Clear Sky and take him to Tall Shadow’s camp. One of the mountain cats is his mother, and she wants to see him.”

Cloud Spots had pushed through the bracken now. He looked at Thunder, blinking in surprise.

“Quiet Rain came all the way from the mountains just to see him?”

Thunder shrugged. “She wants to see Gray Wing and Jagged Peak too.”

Lightning Tail swished his tail over the snow. “I’ll travel to Clear Sky’s camp with you.”

Thunder shook his head. “I want you to guard the camp. There might be hungry foxes around.”

“Then Lightning Tail should go with you,” Owl Eyes urged. “We’ll be okay. Pink Eyes can smell a fox as far away as the moor, and Leaf and Milkweed will help me protect the kits if there’s trouble.”

Thunder stared into the young tom’s eager eyes. “Okay.”

“You can trust me to keep the camp safe.” Puffing out his chest, Owl Eyes trotted away and sat down beside Pink Eyes.

“We should leave now,” Thunder told Lightning Tail. “Clear Sky’s mother is sick. We can’t waste time.”

Lightning Tail stared at him. “Why did you come back here first?”

“I promised Milkweed I would.” Thunder avoided his friend’s gaze.

But the black cat had clearly guessed that Thunder was reluctant to return to his father’s camp.

“Don’t worry,” he mewed, nudging Thunder’s shoulder with his nose. “We’ll just tell Clear Sky about Quiet Rain and escort him to Tall Shadow’s camp. It’s the right thing to do.”

“I know,” Thunder muttered wearily. “I just wish some other cat could do it.” He headed for the gorse and wriggled underneath. Thorns scraped his pelt and snow showered onto his muzzle as he emerged on the other side. He climbed the rocks to the top of the ravine, pausing to let Lightning Tail catch up, then headed into the forest.

They made the trek to Clear Sky’s camp in silence. Thunder’s ears were pricked for foxes.

Lightning Tail’s gaze was fixed on the forest floor as he picked his way over snow-covered roots and fallen twigs. By the time they reached the bramble wall that shielded Clear Sky’s camp from the forest, Thunder was cold to the bone. He paused at the entrance and turned back to Lightning Tail.

“Let’s make this as quick as we can.”

Lightning Tail nodded, and Thunder nosed his way into the camp.

The clearing was empty. Soft snores sounded around the edge.

“Thunder?” Acorn Fur sat up in her nest. “What are you doing…” The young she-cat’s mew trailed away as she caught sight of Lightning Tail. “Have you come back?” Hope flashed in her gaze.

“No,” Lightning Tail told her softly.

Acorn Fur’s ear twitched irritably. “Then why are you here?”

“We have a message for Clear Sky,” Thunder told her.

Nests rustled around the clearing and eyes blinked from the darkness.

“Is that Thunder?” Blossom nosed her way sleepily from beneath the holly.

Alder and Birch hopped from their nests beneath the bramble. Nettle, Quick Water, and Sparrow

Fur padded from the shadows into the snowy clearing.

“What do you want?” Birch eyed Thunder suspiciously.

“I hope you haven’t come to recruit more cats,” Nettle growled. “Because none of us are joining you.”

Thunder narrowed his eyes and lifted his chin. “I’m just here to get Clear Sky.” He’d been prepared for Clear Sky’s anger, but not for the hostility of his former campmates.

Sparrow Fur padded forward. “How is Owl Eyes?”

“He’s fine,” Thunder told her. “I left him guarding our camp.”

“What about Pink Eyes?” Blossom’s tortoiseshell splotches stood out against the snow.

Lightning Tail moved beside Thunder. “He likes his new home. He’s happy there.”

“He was happy here ,” Alder muttered.

Thunder returned her gaze. “So why did he leave?”

Lightning Tail stepped between them. “We didn’t wake you for gossip.”

“We came to get Clear Sky.” Thunder glanced toward the oak roots where Clear Sky’s nest lay. It was empty.

“He and Star Flower have made a nest up in the bracken.” Acorn Fur nodded toward the steep mud bank and the shadows beyond.

“Clear Sky!” Thunder raised his voice. He stiffened as the bracken rustled and Clear Sky’s gray pelt showed in the shadows.

“What do you want, Thunder?” Clear Sky stopped at the top of the bank.

Thunder stared at him. “Quiet Rain has come down from the mountains. She is in Tall Shadow’s camp. She wants to see you.” He watched Clear Sky’s eyes widen, satisfaction at his father’s surprise rippling through his pelt. “I promised Gray Wing I’d get you. You need to hurry; she’s sick.” As he turned and headed for the entrance, a soft mew sounded beside Clear Sky.

“Wait, Thunder.” Star Flower was calling him.

He stopped. “What for?”

“This is a shock for your father. Won’t you show him a little kindness?”

Like the kindness he’s always shown me? Bitterness rose in Thunder’s throat, but he was aware of the other cats’ gazes on him. “Okay.” He waited as Clear Sky scrambled down the bank.

“How sick is she?” Clear Sky stopped beside him.

Thunder avoided his gaze. He didn’t want to feel sorry for his father. “She’s half-starved and has a wound on her hind leg. Pebble Heart’s treating it, but he says the infection has gone deep.”

Star Flower jumped down the bank. “I’m coming with you.”

Thunder stiffened. The she-cat smelled different. And there was a gentle glow in her eyes, which he’d never seen before.

“Please stay here,” Clear Sky told her gently. “It’s cold. You should rest. You’re expecting our kits.”

Shock stabbed like icicles into Thunder’s chest. Expecting his kits! He dug his claws into the snow, trying to hide his disbelief. “Clear Sky’s right,” he growled. “You should stay here. Besides, this isn’t your concern—Quiet Rain is our kin, not yours.”

Acorn Fur stepped forward. Her eyes flashed in the dark. “What’s done is done, Thunder. Don’t be cruel.”

Thunder glanced at her. What do you know about cruelty? Your mother didn’t die when you were a kit. Your father didn’t send you away.

“Come on,” Lightning Tail murmured in his ear. “We’re wasting time.”

Thunder faced Clear Sky. “Are you ready to leave?”

Clear Sky’s tail trembled. “Yes.”

By the time they reached Tall Shadow’s camp, the snow had pierced the pine canopy and was falling in heavy clumps onto the forest floor. An icy wind sliced between the dark trunks. Thunder ducked through the bramble entrance, relieved to reach the shelter of the high camp walls.

He waited for Clear Sky and Lightning Tail to follow him through.

The clearing looked deserted. The cats must have taken to their nests to escape the cold. Only Gray Wing lay in the open. He was curled into a ball outside Pebble Heart’s den. Snow flecked his pelt. He leaped to his paws as soon as he saw Clear Sky and hurried across the camp to meet him.